Purdue notebook: Johnson brothers came through in clutch

The Purdue bench erupts after A.J. Hammons was fouled with 1.1 seconds remaining and the score tied 64-64 with Penn State, January 18, 2014, in Mackey Arena on the campus of Purdue University. Hammons hit the first of two free throws to seal the victory for Purdue 65-64 over Penn State.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

After a sloppy mess of a second half that nearly resulted in a season-altering loss, the Purdue men's basketball team made four big plays in the clutch on Saturday.

The final two — Jay Simpson's inbounds lob to A.J. Hammons and the resulting go-ahead free throw with 1.1 seconds left — capped a 65-64 victory over Penn State.

Neither would have been possible without earlier game-changing plays from brothers Terone and Ronnie Johnson.

Penn State's D.J. Newbill hit a pair of free throws with 17.2 seconds left to give the Nittany Lions a 64-61 lead. Purdue freshman Kendall Stephens, who had already made four 3-pointers, subbed in after the second free throw.

However, circumstances led to Terone Johnson elevating from the sideline opposite the Boiler bench with Newbill in his face to drain the equalizer with seven seconds left. Johnson came into the game hitting 38.2 percent of his 3s, but was 0-for-6 over his last three games before hitting what Purdue coach Matt Painter called "a big-time shot."

"The play was originally focused on Kendall," Terone Johnson said. "He was supposed to come off the down screen for the 3 at the top, but they overplayed it, so Ronnie ended up passing the ball to me.

"... It felt pretty fluid. It really didn't feel like a pressure shot."

Ronnie Johnson dished his fourth assist of the night on his brother's 3. When Penn State inbounded the ball after a Purdue timeout, the sophomore swooped in from behind Nittany Lions senior guard Tim Frazier and knocked the ball loose. Purdue senior Sterling Carter grabbed it, and Painter called another timeout to set the stage for Hammons.

Ronnie Johnson picked up his fourth foul with 7:24 left and finished with no points or rebounds, but the one steal loomed large.

"It kind of threw the balance off," Terone Johnson said. "We had some guys that really don't play with each other a lot out there. Ronnie, he got in foul trouble and was kind of mad about it, and I think he let it affect his play a little bit. But at the end of the game, he made a big steal for us, which we thought was great and we congratulate him for that."

After turning the ball over eight times in the first half, the Boilers gave it away three times in the first two minutes after halftime. Several of the turnovers came on travels or were otherwise unforced.

"It was mostly our mistakes, not them pressuring us and making us turn the ball over," Terone Johnson said. "We were just trying to make things happen that weren't there instead of keeping our composure and running our offense."

Purdue also shot a season-low 31.6 percent from the field, including a ghastly 25.9 percent in the second half. The Boilermakers had not won while shooting under 35 percent since beating Indiana State on Dec. 8, 2010.

Fresh victory

Among other unsung heroes whose exploits were overshadowed by the crazy final seconds, freshmen Basil Smotherman and Stephens made critical contributions.

Smotherman enjoyed probably his finest all-around game as a Boilermaker, collecting career highs of 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. He scored seven points in the final 84 seconds of the first half, pushing Purdue to a 35-33 halftime lead.

Five of his rebounds were offensive, and the forward made 6 of 7 free throws.

"I just had to keep hustling, and I mostly get the hustle points and make the hustle plays," Smotherman said. "That's what I had to keep doing for 40 minutes."

Stephens made 4 of 10 3-pointers en route to 12 points, one shy of the career high he set against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 7. He made 3 of 4 from behind the arc in the first half.

Family pleaser

Tolono, Ill., sits firmly in the middle of orange-and-blue-crazy Illini country. But the town made its second contribution to Purdue history on Saturday.

Purdue fans already knew Tolono as the hometown of former Boilermaker and NBA player Brian Cardinal. He starred for the Unity High School Rockets before his Purdue career from 1996 to 2000.

Tolono is also the birthplace of Monical's Pizza, which delivered the pizzas to which A.J. Hammons referred in the press conference. Painter asked Hammons what he ordered on his postgame pizza to take his mind off the tense free throws he was about to attempt with the game tied 64-64 with 1.1 seconds left.